holiday in syria Information by Netty

Before we came to Damascus, we had won our first impressions about the Syrian attitude to life and time. Our Syrian guide told us not to hurry, because our departure, which was timed at 20.00, will not depart before 22:00 - and it happend as predicted. Time plays no important role to Syria and to this atitude Western Europeans have to accustomed. After we landed around 2:00 clock, the customs formalities in Damascus were without complications, we were informed that the next day at 9.00 is already a sight seeing tour of the old city of Damascus on the daily schedule. Our first trip was organized without consulating us, but we were on holiday and in the fortunate position to be flexible. So we had not really a problem with this cultural program. Well as you can count, we spended a very short first night at the hotel. At 9.00 clock (and this time not later! bad luck for us) we went on our first day in Damascus old town and the beauty and the flair of one of the oldest cities in the world can overwhelm you. In the center of Damascus, the old town, is the Souk (bazaar), which consists of countless streets with many shops, in which one beside everyday utilitarian objects including souvenirs, gold, etc. can be acquired. As everywhere in the Orient is the negotiation of the final price unavoidable part of the purchase. It helps a certain tenacity and of course a native companion, or at least if you have Arabic language skills. Meeting place after the Souk visit was the umayyads mosque. It is because of its impressive size and equipment absolute worth for every tourist to see.

Other attractions you should not omit during the visit, is the tomb Saladin, the sultan and opponent of the Crusaders, which is located near the Umayyads mosque, as well as the National Museum. Actually, it is surprising that Damascus is not one of the major Christian pilgrimage sites. In the Umayyads mosque is a mausoleum with the corpse of John the Baptist and in the old town is the Chapel of Ananias, one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. The National Museum displays, among many other historical treasures after the current information the first alphabet of humanity from the 14th Century before Christ, found in Ugarit. Even hard boiled museum sourpusses may be stimulated by the exhibits which are shown here! South of Damascus near the Jordanian border, there is a large (with 15,000 seats) and very well-preserved amphitheater, which is more than 2000 years old. About principal in Syria you get the impression that anything less than 1000 years, counts to the new one. In Syria is the cradle of our culture, and it shows it in breathtaking beauty. The trip continued after Latakia, the second city in which a longer stay was planned. Here, we made a “small” detour through the Syrian semi on Palmyra, which according to the guide largest excavation site in the world. Fascinating is primarily the state and city the size of the facility with the colonnades and the Baaltempel. Lattakia itself offers culturally interested visitors, apart from the nearby ruins of Ugarit and the Saladins castle little interesting. The main port city of Latakia in Syria has a certain flair of a metropolis. In our specific case, we had the good fortune that our local guide from the vicinity of Lattakia came and led us to places that tourists rarely, if ever, visited. so we could also see the charms of the back country Lattakia´s.

The hilly and fertile, apple, orange and olive trees on the Mediterranean landscape sprayed a life force, which in these latitudes you would not suspect. Especially the Mediterranean province landscape Iskanderun with its villages and sourrounding mountains, which are still spared from mass tourism, are of sublime beauty. As part of our stay in Lattakia we used the opportunity to see as much as possible of the inland. A short stay in Allepo (Halab) with the visit to the imposing citadel in the center of the city and the inevitable visit of the Souk, which should be the best of Syria, was a welcome change. The trip was rounded by the visit of Simeon monastery (St. columns). After the stay in Lattakia we traveled back to Damascus via Hama. Through our local guide, we got direct contact with Syrian people. The proverbial hospitality of the Syrians, we can only confirm after this trip from our own experience. Every house, which we had visited,offered us healthy eating as the best fruit and excellent food. Our trip was so exciting and we spended more time as planed, so we had to correct our time table many times. Concluding I have to confess that Syria is for everone a visit worth and I hope that it will be not my only one.

Holiday in Syria, Netty; Last Minute Reisen und billig fliegen - Buddha Amulets for you.